KUALA LUMPUR – If national junior bowlers can be consistent with their commitment and dedication as they were at the recent IBF World Youth Championships in South Korea, there is no doubt a world champion is on the horizon.
Today, the young Malaysian quartet of Nur Hazirah Ramli, Adania Redzwan, Adelia Nur Irwan Syazalee, and Anis Hannani Romzi made history by winning the country’s first ever girls’ team gold.
They achieved this by defeating favourites Singapore 221-211, 236-190 in the matchplay final at the Fiesta Bowling Centre in Incheon.
For the record, this gold medal is Malaysia’s first at the junior world meet in six years, since Nur Syazwani Sahar victory at the All-Events at the 2018 edition in the United States.
Speaking to Scoop, junior coach and team manager Wendy Chai said she was extremely proud of how the team conducted themselves in the final, despite facing a far more experienced team, which included girls’ singles champion Arianne Tay, and Colleen Pee, who bowled at the World Championships in Kuwait last year.
“These girls are definitely our future.
“As a coach, I feel a lot of pressure, but can you imagine what they must be feeling standing on the approach and having to deliver the shots?
“The girls have a very bright future ahead of them. I believe if they can maintain the same attitude they showed at the World Youth Championships, there is no doubt a world champion is in the making,” said Wendy, who won the National Women’s Coach award last year.
Earlier, the girls’ team secured a spot in the matchplay stage by finishing second in the qualifying round with a 10-game total of 2,016 pinfalls, just behind South Korea (2,095).
In the matchplay round, Malaysia topped Group B with six wins from seven matches. Only the top two teams from Groups A and B advanced to the final round.
In the semi-finals yesterday, Malaysia defeated Colombia 201-196, 201-231, 202-178, while Singapore overcame Norway 182-169, 201-189.
As one of the leading sports associations in the country, the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) can also take heart from the performance of the mixed team quartet of Hariz Aldlan Azman, Izz Naqiuddin Putra, Hazirah, and Adania, who settled for bronze after narrowly losing 233-234, 181-174, 248-212 to South Korea in the semi-finals. – July 18, 2024